, 1887-06-26
VARIETIES oE nAnpsI.Aklna.
How the Custom First oriGinated-Pecu
narItIes of Different People.


ibid o aver consider how people
first began to shake hands? No? Well,
then. sit down here and I'll tall you what
1 think about it, for l have given this
subject some study" said a gentleman
to a reporter. MY opinion is that il.
early and barbarous times, when every
savage or semi savage was his own law
giver, judge, soldier and policeman, and
had to witch over his own safety, in de-
fault of all other protection, when two
friends or acquaintance, or two stran-
gers desiring to be friends or acquaint-
ances, when they CHANGED to meet, Of
fcrcd each to the other the right hano
alike of offense and defense-the hand
that wields the sword, the dagger, the
club, the tomahawk or other weapon of
war. Each did this to show that the
hand was empty and that neither war
nor ~treachery was intended. A man
cannot well stall another while he is en-
gagged in the net Of shaking hands with
him, unless he be q double dyed traitor
end villain and strives to aim a cow
ardly blow with the left while giving the
right end pretending 20 be on good terms
with Linn.
Did you ever observe that the ladies
never shake hands with the cordially OF
$500 AAAON ~ 10 4 GuCh Oblitl IL
reason IS obvious 1t is fer them to re-
ccivc homage, not to give it. They can
not be expected to show to persons of the
other sex a warmth Of greeting which
might be misinterpreted unless such per-
sons arc very closely related, in which
cases h~andshalsing is not needed and the
lips do more agreeable duty.
Livery man shakes hands according to
his nature, whether it be timid or aggres-
sive, proud or humble, courteous or
chnrlish, vulgar or refined. There il Ger
tainly q great art In Handwriting, but l
tell you the Kind of handshake l hate,
and that 10 n of the what 1 call the
jolly good follow handshakes. One of
those fellows will grasp your hand,
squeeze it until the tears run down your
cheeks and then, using your arm in the
same manner rs o pump handle, will 60
on shaking oil the time he is falling to
you, letting i. rcSt easy for a ome or
SC, with tho exception Of o Little Spas
modic shake w and again, only, how
ever, to start il cfresh. Tho first time
you imagine hc 10 Going it because he is
extremely glad to SEQ you, but when you
see him manifest the same cordially to-
ward people whom he met for the first
time yesterday ond toward those with
whom he has been intimate for years you
know he is a humbus or is, at any rate,
acting from habit. But of all the men
to be avoided the man who squeezes your
hand in an e~xcruciating manner on a
false prete2so is the worst. lie dislocates
your joints to convince you that he re-
CARDS you highly, and as o ns you
IRE out of sight forgets you or thinks
that you arc no great shakes after all,
or, worse still, abuses you behind your
back.
Another and even more odious kind
Of handshaker is he who offers you his
hand, but will not permit you to get fair
hold of it. To be treated with cool con-
tempt of supercilious scorn which such u
mode of salutation implies is worse than
not to be saluted ut all. II hands are to
be shaken let it be lone properly. An
other species of handshaker l detest is
the man who offers o one finger instead
of five, as much as to say, i am either
too p~rcoccupied myself or think too little
OF you to give you my whole hand
With u q man tho interchange of any
but the barest and scantiest courtesy /
rendered difficult by any one who has a
particle of self respect.
"Yet another Objectionable man is the
n that shoves out his left hand in greet
ing you. That is discourteous, sometimes
intentional and sometimes not, but it is
an act that nc true gentleman would
ommit. There is really no reason why
it should be more discourteous than to
kiss the left cheek instead of the right,
hut doubtless the custom that makes the
right hand imperative in oil sincere salu-
tations dates from those early times when
h~andshaking first began, and the hand
that shook or was shaken in friend
ship was of necessity weaponlcss. The
poor left hand that one would think
ought to he Of as much value and strength
as the right, just as the left foot or leg is
as strong as the right fool or leg, because
they are both used equally, has fallen
into disrepute as well Us into comparative
disuse, until it has become an accepted
phrase to say of any proceedings that is
in:uJpicious, artful, sly or secretly mali
cious, that it Is 'sinister'-that it is left
handed.
II do not,'' he continued, ''object to
shake hands or certain occasions, but il
is this perpetual shake, shalie,' with
everybody thatI object to. 1t is pleasant
to touch the hand of an honest mar or
woman. and to be on such terms of &C
Guardianship with either of these mas
tcrpieces of creation ns to justify you in
the thought that you ere their equal.
Even to grasp the paw of On intelligent
dog, who holds it up for you to shake on
being asked to do SO, is something plea
SAINT. For the dog, unlike some men,
would scorn to give his paw to one in
whose eye and in whose face he, by his
fine instinct, in some respects the equal if
not the superior of reason, discovered
treachery or evil. AS 1 nave said, it is
the continued hand shaking with Tom,
Dick and Harry that ought to be put u
stop to.-Chicago News.
People Partially Unsound.